SQL Server Extended Events Targets

 

THIS TOPIC APPLIES TO:yesSQL Server (starting with 2014)yesAzure SQL DatabasenoAzure SQL Data Warehouse noParallel Data Warehouse

SQL Server Extended Events targets are event consumers. Targets can write to a file, store event data in a memory buffer, or aggregate event data. Targets can process data synchronously or asynchronously.

The Extended Events design ensures that targets are guaranteed to receive events once and only once per session.

Extended Events provide the following targets that you can use for an Extended Events session:

  • Event counter

    Counts all specified events that occur during an Extended Events session. Use to obtain information about workload characteristics without adding the overhead of full event collection. This is a synchronous target.

  • Event file

    Use to write event session output from complete memory buffers to disk. This is an asynchronous target.

  • Event pairing

    Many kinds of events occur in pairs, such as lock acquires and lock releases. Use to determine when a specified paired event does not occur in a matched set. This is an asynchronous target.

  • Event Tracing for Windows (ETW)

    Use to correlate SQL Server events with Windows operating system or application event data. This is a synchronous target.

  • Histogram

    Use to count the number of times that a specified event occurs, based on a specified event column or action. This is an asynchronous target.

  • Ring buffer

    Use to hold the event data in memory on a first-in first-out (FIFO) basis, or on a per-event FIFO basis. This is an asynchronous target.

See Also

Extended Events
SQL Server Extended Events Packages
SQL Server Extended Events Sessions
SQL Server Extended Events Engine